Gilbert Gottfried Fired -- Now What?

Comedian Gilbert Gottfried's voice is unmistakably his. His nasally, gruff tones can identify him in a sea of noise. His voice has landed him just as much voice-over work as he has had in front of a camera. On Monday, though, he lost his longest running gig as voice of the duck in the Aflac commercials. Apparently his series of jokes about the earthquake and tsunami in Japan over the weekend was just too much for Aflac and its executives.

As reported by People , Aflac, which does considerable business in Japan, found Gottfried's comments and jokes completely offensive and they have dismissed him. Aflac's Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Michael Zuna issued this statement: "Gilbert's recent comments about the crisis in Japan were lacking in humor and certainly do not represent the thoughts and feelings of anyone at Aflac." People has also reported that Gottfried today issued an apology for his comments. It appears that it's a case of too-little, too-late, though, as a search is apparently underway for a new voice of the duck.

Gottfried of course is not the first celebrity to lose work because of comments he's made, or thanks to public ire over commentary on a tragic event. In 2001, comedian Bill Maher lost deals with Sears and Federal Express as sponsors for his show Politically Incorrect after he called the Bush administration "cowards" for "lobbing cruise missiles from 2,000 miles away" in the wake of 9/11 and at the outset of The War on Terror. Maher himself said ABC fired him for his comments in his 2002 interview with Salon.

Comedians alone are not the only set of celebrities who can get into hot water thanks to their sound bytes. 9/11 once again served as the backdrop for controversy when Dixie Chicks lead singer Natalie Maines said to a London crowd at a concert that they were "ashamed that the president of the United States of America is from Texas." This was just three days before the war in Iraq started, and the furor that erupted over Maines' comments was swift. CNN in 2003 reported that Texan radio stations were refusing to play Dixie Chicks music in the wake of the London concert. Death threats were made and public burnings of Dixie Chicks CDs were held.

in 2009, USA Today reported that Tiger Woods lost deals worth millions of dollars with Gillette and Gatorade after his extramarital affairs were plastered all over the tabloids for the better part of a month. In both instances neither Gatorade nor Gillette got into specifics as to why the deals with Tiger were terminated, but it wouldn't take many powers of deduction to figure it out. The scandal seemed to have an effect even on Woods' game as he has not even looked like the same golfer out on the links since.

So what does this all mean for Gilbert Gottfried? What's the lesson to be learned in all of this? Well, almost 10 years after his own commentary cost him his show's sponsorships and possibly his show, Maher is back in the limelight on an even more successful HBO show, Real Time With Bill Maher. The Dixie Chicks are still making music and are one of Country Music's most popular acts, having also won a few Grammys even after the controversy Maines stirred up.

The jury is still out on Tiger Woods, however. Clearly he hasn't played golf at the same high level, but financially he still has a few endorsement deals. EA Sports' newest version of its golfing video game named for Tiger is slated to be released later this year.

My prediction is that in the end, this controversy too will blow over and have very little effect on Gottfried's career. Gottfried has always had a reputation as a comedian who will pull no punches and go for the laughs whenever he feels they are there. Just three weeks after 9/11 at the Friar's Club roast of Hugh Hefner, Gottfried made a joke about 9/11...and the roast was in New York. Is it a bit strange that Aflac did not see fit to fire him for that appearance, but instead chose this one to make their move?

Ultimately, Gottfried's name will probably take a bit of a beating in certain circles for a few days or even a couple of weeks, but time is a funny thing. It can make taboo subjects open for jokes and humor, and can also make people completely forget why they were upset in the first place.

Think I'm way off base? Let me know! Leave a comment.